Opt-Out Ledger

How to Opt Out of Spokeo

Last checked: October 25, 2026

Spokeo is one of the best-known people-search sites in the US.

If you search your own name, a Spokeo profile may show your home address, phone numbers, and relatives. It may also show old addresses and an estimate of your home's value.

The good news: Spokeo has a free, official opt-out form. You do not need an account. You do not need to pay.

Plan for a few minutes to fill out the form. Then you must click a link in an email from Spokeo. Your request does not start until you click that link. After that, removal takes 24–48 hours, and sometimes up to 72 hours.

This guide shows each step. It also shows the mistakes that cause requests to fail, and how to check that your listing is gone.

Quick answer

What this site shows about you

A standard Spokeo profile can include:

Spokeo builds these profiles from public records, marketing data, and other sources.

Because the data comes from many places, you may have more than one listing. For example:

That matters. Spokeo treats each listing separately. You must remove each one on its own.

Step-by-step: remove your Spokeo listing

You may see an offer to buy a report about yourself. Do not buy it. You do not need it to opt out.

  1. Go to spokeo.com.
  2. Search your name and city.
  3. Open the result that looks like you. You will see a profile page.
  4. Check that it is your record. Look at the age, relatives, and addresses. If those do not match you, do not submit this listing. It may be someone else with the same name.
  5. Copy the exact profile URL. Stay on your profile page. Copy the full address from your browser's address bar at the top. Do not copy a link from Google or from search results. Those links can point to the wrong record. When you copy the right link, you will have the web address for this one profile only.
  6. Go to the opt-out page. Open spokeo.com/optout in the same browser.
  7. Paste your profile URL into the form. Paste it into the box that asks for your profile URL.
  8. Enter your email address. Use an inbox you can open right away. You will need it in the next steps.
  9. Check the "I'm not a robot" box. This is the CAPTCHA. A CAPTCHA is a test to prove you are a person, not a program.
  10. Complete any picture challenge that appears. If the challenge keeps failing, try a different browser. Or turn off a VPN. A VPN can trigger repeated challenges.
  11. Submit the form. You will get an email from Spokeo next. The form alone does not finish your request.
  12. Open the confirmation email. If you do not see it in a few minutes, check your spam and promotions folders.
  13. Click the confirmation link in the email. This click is the real submission. Nothing happens until you click it. After you click, you should land on a page that says your opt-out request was received.
  14. Keep the email. Keep it until you check that your listing is gone. It shows when you submitted your request.
  15. Search again for other listings. Search under other name versions — a maiden name, a nickname, a middle-name version — and in each old city.
  16. Submit a separate request for each listing you find. Use each listing's own URL.

What trips people up

One request does not remove all your listings. This is the most common Spokeo mistake. Each profile URL needs its own opt-out request. If you moved or changed your name, expect duplicates, and expect to repeat the process for each one.

Paying for a report does not help. Spokeo will offer you a paid report on your own profile along the way. You do not need to buy anything to opt out. The form at spokeo.com/optout is free, and paying does not make removal faster or more complete.

The confirmation click is the real submission. Many people fill in the form, see no error, and assume they are done. Nothing happens until you click the link in Spokeo's email. Requests that are never confirmed simply expire.

Wrong-person removals. Common names produce near-identical profiles. If you paste the URL of someone else's listing, you will remove theirs, not yours — and yours will still be live. Match on age, relatives, and address history before you submit.

Pasting the wrong link. A Google result link, a search page link, or a link copied from someone else's share can point to the wrong record. Always copy the URL from the profile page itself, in your browser's address bar.

How long and how to verify

Spokeo states that removal usually takes 24–48 hours. Some listings take up to 72 hours.

Wait at least three days before you check.

Then search your name and city on Spokeo again. Do not just revisit the old URL. A cached page — an old saved copy your browser shows — can look live even after removal.

Search fresh. Use a private or incognito window if you can.

If your exact profile no longer appears in results, your request worked. If you open the old link, it should say the profile was removed or is unavailable.

If the listing is still live after 72 hours, check these likely causes:

Re-check the URL character by character. Confirm the email step. Resubmit if needed.

When your listing comes back

Removal is not guaranteed to be permanent.

Spokeo refreshes its data from outside sources. If a public record or data supplier lists you again, a new profile can be created months later.

The new profile may look a little different. It may use a different name version or address. This is normal across people-search sites. It is not a sign that your original request failed.

Make this a habit: search your name on Spokeo every few months. Repeat the opt-out for any new listing you find. Each new listing needs its own request, just like the first time.

Rather have it done for you?

Opting out site by site is free, but there are hundreds of data brokers and people-search sites, and listings can reappear. Paid removal services handle the requests and the re-checks for you. Two well-known options are Incogni and Optery. We link to their homepages here so you can compare plans and coverage yourself; no service can promise permanent removal from every site, so check what each one actually covers before you pay. If you subscribe through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Sources

Opt-Out Ledger is independent and is not affiliated with Spokeo. This guide is general information, not legal advice.